The Timberwolves' self- published blueprint for rebuilding after Kevin Garnett revolves around youth, the accumulation of extra draft picks and the clearing of salary-cap space for free-agent signings in the summers of 2009 and 2010.
It might be a beautiful 85-degree July day when one of those free agents comes to town to check things out. All winter, though, NBA players come through town seeking to travel from hotel to arena without ever going outside. On Tuesday, Miami players awoke to a minus-18 temperature and they elected to walk to work rather than risk a second outside reaching the team bus.
"It's unbelievable cold," said Heat star Dwyane Wade, a potential marquee free agent in 2010 who will be well out of the Wolves' reach. "It shows me that I love Miami, I know that."
Somebody asked Wolves coach Kevin McHale before Tuesday's game if Minnesota's infamous cold might drive free agents away.
"I can tell you right now, if you go to Detroit, if you go to Chicago, it's cold there, too," McHale said. "If you win, they'll come."
Miami rookie Mario Chalmers, a Timberwolf for about two seconds on draft night, was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, and he called Tuesday's cold worse -- "Not even close," he said -- than anything he experienced growing up.
"He's crazy," McHale said. "I just saw Fairbanks is minus-45. I don't care, it's cold in Alaska, it's cold in Minnesota, it's cold in Chicago, it's cold all over the Upper Midwest. I don't think that's a big deal."
No foul, no harm
The NBA rescinded the automatic fine that accompanied the two technical fouls that got McHale ejected after the first quarter of Saturday's game against Milwaukee, presumably deciding after further review that his questioning of the officiating crew didn't merit such a penalty.
Ouch!
Wolves forward Al Jefferson received seven stitches at halftime to close a gash over his right eye, sustained when he caught an elbow as Wade drove to the basket as the first half ended.
He cupped one hand to catch the blood as he headed to the locker room but returned to start the second half with a bandage over that eye.
An outside opinion
Wade -- the Olympian, All-Star and television commercial star -- has taken notice of the Wolves' turnaround from a 4-23 start to a 6-2 streak that included the five-game winning streak they brought to Target Center on Tuesday night.
"You know what, they've got talent," Wade said. "Once confidence sets in and you start figuring the NBA game out, anybody in this league can go on a streak. It's scary: Teams like Minnesota and Memphis, with the young talent they have, this league is going to get even crazier."
